"She's holding," announced Ranworth cheerfully. "But there's no moving until the blizzard is over. It's much too thick to last long."
His surmise was correct, for almost as suddenly as it had begun, the stinging torrent of snow ceased, and once more the watery sun shone in the misty sky.
"We'll have to wait until the snow freezes before we can use the runners," said Ranworth. "Meanwhile, we must do the best we can with the decapod wheels. I'll go outside and clear the snow from the scuttle."
As soon as Ranworth returned after completing his task, Leslie started the motors, and applied the friction band which transmitted power to the broad-flanged wheels. Instead of "taking up the load," the motors stopped abruptly.
"Bother it! What's up now?" asked Ranworth, in a mild panic; for, much as he prized Leslie's services as an engineer, he had his doubts whether the lad would be able to tackle a serious breakdown.
Throwing out the clutch, Leslie restarted the engines. They ran without a hitch, but the moment the clutch was thrown in they stopped as suddenly as before.
"It's not the fault of the motors, sir," reported Leslie. "I should think that something jammed outside."
"It's frozen snow," declared Ranworth, after the crew had alighted. "The cogs are literally stuffed up. Get a crowbar, Guy, and try to shift the accumulation. And, O'Donovan, bring a couple of spades with you and cut away some of the drift in front of us. We couldn't be in a worse place for starting, although it protected us from the full fury of the storm."
The effect of the wind upon the fallen snow was most remarkable. As far as the eye could reach, the aspect resembled a frozen sea, the snow being piled up in long undulations, like the Atlantic rollers suddenly petrified. One of these snow waves had accumulated in front of the Bird of Freedom. Even the decapod wheels would fail to find support upon the soft, slanting bank of snow. Ranworth and O'Donovan set to work to cut a passage through the obstruction.
"I'll bear a hand, too," volunteered Leslie, and, returning to the sleigh for another spade, he surmounted the mound of snow and vigorously began to attack the barrier.